SITE SERVICES

PS&S provided architectural, engineering and environmental services to a leading pharmaceutical client in support of a campus expansion project that includes three new office buildings. PS&S was asked to design a new chiller plant to serve the campus expansion. The chiller plant provides 2,000 tons of cooling capacity, expandable to 3,000 tons. PS&S is also handling construction administration activities.

THE CHALLENGE

This campus is subject to the owner’s corporate mandate for all capital projects to achieve maximum energy efficiency by incorporating economically viable energy efficiency measures.

The plant is being constructed in a wooded and environmentally sensitive location. Goals included minimizing site disturbance while allowing for the design of adequate foundation footings and ensuring compliance with permissible on-site and local noise criteria levels. The site plan was configured so that the fewest number of existing trees would be impacted by the new plant.

THE PS&S SOLUTION

Many energy efficiency measures were incorporated into the design of this fully automated plant, including variable primary chilled water flow with temperature and pressure set points that are reset based on load and seasonal conditions and optimized pumping. Because the HVAC systems serving the office buildings are not equipped with airside economizers, waterside economizer heat exchangers were incorporated at the chiller plant to reduce chiller run time when outside air conditions permit.

PS&S collected pre-construction noise monitoring data and performed an analysis that was used to inform the design, minimizing noise levels from the plant. Our in-house multi-disciplinary team was able to effectively come up with a design for the new plant that met the owner’s requirements to minimize the site disturbance while providing the necessary site improvements for the building foundation.